Actually this doesn’t happen very often. The DM is most likely going to point to the map, or the minis, and clearly describe which side everyone is on, even if that information really shouldn’t be so neatly defined for newcomers. However, if the DM is foolish enough to let players work out the sides on their own, then a friendly-fire incident is probably a good bet.

Now the question is: If the players attack the wrong guys and prevail, do they get XP?

I’d argue they still get xp, but face horrifying ramifications which outweigh the relatively low benefit of a new level :D

We had a similar question once as to what would happen if you polymorph an enemy into a giant rubber duck. The duck is incapable of attacking and therefore technically vanquished, but should the group them get xp for the giant they polymorphed or the duck it turned into?

Of course they should. A kill is a kill. The xp system is supposed to be imitating real-life experience. And if you get xp for kills, that means it’s a game where killing people is supposed to grant some sort of real-life experience.

1) Do the dead get XP for killing Rohan forces? And if so, what does it do for them … get them closer to being able to rest?
2) For Rohan, can they kill these ghosts? And if so, do they get the same amount of XPs for each one or do their numbers go up based on what they were when alive?

These are critically important questions that need answers. Inquiring minds want to know!

Aragorn was amazed the day that he learned that when the king of the undead said, “As you wish,” what he was really saying was, “I love you.” And even more amazing was the day he discovered that he truly loved him back.

As far as the king on a dragon incident, this is clear case of player/character knowledge. If the character you were playing should have known that was the king but you as a new player to the game didn’t, then it was asinine of the GM to have you rain lightning down without telling you. Now, if you had already been told and just forgot….then it might be fair game, but I’d still give players a warning.

Something that’s often forgotten by GM’s and players alike is that the characters live in this make believe world. They spend their time there 24/7. The players don’t, and have real world concerns that sometimes bump character knowledge out of their heads. So the players often need to be cut a little slack for laspes in their characters’ memories.

This reminds me of a game of Battletech I played once. We all started in space, two fighters, one dropship. Each of us on our own side of the map, dropship flanked by the fighters. Planet’s in the middle. Guy to my left got the first action. He immediately pointed to his dropship and said, “I want to ram my fighter into this.”

Both I and the other player just kind of stared at him, but he was adamant. He wanted to ram that dropship. So we figured out all the damage, and announced he’d successfully eliminated the ‘mech bays. He was out of the game.

One of the guys in my D&D group told us about another game where his 120-year-old Elf character, who had lived in the same city his whole life, was forced to roll to see if he knew who the ruler of the city was. This, because he did not take the “local knowledge” skill or feat or whatever. That was his last session with that DM.

The odd thing is, the Rohanites shouldn’t be shouting “Same Team!” they should be shouting “Charge!”. What? The ships of the evil Black Corsairs just pulled up, disgorged an army of undead, who charged you. What exactly made you think they were good guys?

(But it wouldn’t have been nearly as funny that way; your version is better Shamus!)

The great thing about Call of Cthulhu is the “Idea Roll” function (a secondary trait based on your intelligence), which is what the GM has players roll either when the character would know something the player doesn’t OR the player tries to do something the character wouldn’t know (if the player is a physicist, but playing a native shaman).

I would totally make a character roll to see if they know the name of the ruler of the city they have lived in their whole life. How many kids know the name of their Mayor, or Congressional representative, or Senator? Hell, how many kids even know who the Vice-President is?

Love it. It does always seem too clear on a board of mini both where people are and what they’re doing. Heck, could Aragorn actually even see from one side of the Pelennor Fields to the other once he disembarks from the ship?

There’s a reason it’s good to have a commander operating from a high place. And let’s not even get into instantaneous communication amongst PCs when spread all over the battlefield…

“Now the question is: If the players attack the wrong guys and prevail, do they get XP?”

Offhand, I'd say no. Because that's set a bad precedence that encourages the players to intentionally kill off the wrong guys in future encounters (I’m picturing players going on village slaughtering sprees) . :-)

“Offhand, I'd say no. Because that's set a bad precedence that encourages the players to intentionally kill off the wrong guys in future encounters (I'm picturing players going on village slaughtering sprees).”

Sometimes players will do this on their own accord, xp bonuses or penalties be damned. As the DM, you’ll need something stronger to stop them.

I’d say not. Back in the day, yes, you get XP for killing anything. Thus the whole “boil an antnest” thing. However these days D20 is supposed to give XP for “overcoming the obstacle” (So you can get points for sneaking past things etc). Since they were on their side, helping them and in no way compromising their objectives either on a campaign or person level, they didn’t comprise an obstacle and thus don’t score XP.

“One of my old DMs had a house rule whereby if you killed
anyone through friendly fire or if you killed a noncombatant, you'd lose twice the amount of XP they'd normally give.”

Damn, there’s a campaign to wear baby armour in if ever there was one. I guess you’d need baby dragons or something to make the XP loss hurt enough.

Someone I Game with recounts how during their Shadowrun playing days they had a similar thing to the XP. The only way the party ever made money was by selling all of the trick new cyber gear from the other dead characters. The aim wasn’t to beat the bad guys so much as to be the last good guy standing when the battle finished…

In a sci fi game I ran:
GM: Spirit Ancestor says to player 1 “Never strike from ambush, always accept surrender”

Player 2 to player 1 “Ok, stop this incoming fleet and add its might to our own.”

10 mins later; GM to player “Ok, You have a chance to 1. Face the enemy in traditional open space fleet to fleet battle. 2. Lure them into the asteroid field and ambush them. 3. flee. 4. Surrender. 5. something you can come up with. 6. parley

player 1: “option 2”.

GM: “?…. ok”

2 hours later GM: ok, you have the upper hand in the battle and your intellgence officer locates the enemy commanders ship, what do you want to do?

GM: …. ok.. You obliterate the commanders ship, no life pods are seen.

Player 2 observer (not near the battle but watching from the sidelines) “You do know that we sent you to make an alliance with the enemy fleet and that we cannot hope to win the final battle with out this fleet being added to our own.”

player 1 “WHAT?!! No one told me!”

Player 2 “It’s in the notes.” (referring to the hand out of the prev four games interaction I gave out to bring everyone up to speed) “and you were the one that gave us the prophecy.”

We encountered a small room with several skeletons inside. The door was open and the rogue seemed to have successfully snuck up on them. He came back to the group and we decided to chuck a vial of alchemist’s fire into the room, hopefully killing a few, but at least softening them up for the attack.

The rogue, having the best dexterity and therefore missile weapon bonuses, was given the vial. He reared back, rolled a 1, and promptly dropped the alchemist fire on my druid’s wolf companion, knocking it unconscious and nearly killing it outright.

If he had asked “Do I get XP for that?” I might well have put an arrow in his back and asked the same question.

I think the current approach to XP is better than the old rules. But then I used to always adjust the rules anyway, even in the old rules. If a group had managed to avoid a dragon by cleverness, they would certainly have gotten XP, but not as much as if they confronted and killed it. And even with the new rules, I would not give as much XP for sneaking around a guard as for confronting and neutralizing him.

Friendly fire really hasn’t been that much of a problem in our campaigns, but then again, we don’t normally have entire armies to command.

To the person who suggested that Aragorn isn’t completely at fault for sending the army to attack the “mounted units” of course he should have recognized the Rohirrim instantly, at pretty much any distance. If he had any trouble, Legalos should have instantly said “Isn’t that Theoden?” with those wonderful elf eyes of his.

As usual, I blame the DM in this case more than the players. The description as the ships pulled into port should have been clearly explained to the group. And I don’t know of any real DM and/or group that would have accepted that they began walking into town not seeing a literal army of orcs in their way, and then simply accepted being surrounded by those same orcs. But then again, that’s why the strip is funny.

Whenever a player character gains control of a powerful NPC such as a genie or leprecaun (or, oh, I don’t know, an undead army), the DM ALWAYS messes with the player’s words, following the letter, but never the spirit of the instructions. Why, it’s tradition!

I quit roleplaying about 10 years ago, mostly on account of having nobody to do it with, but this strip has made me want to take it up again, even if only for the chance to use such lines as “I’m like Napoleon, only MAN-SIZED.”

Someone pointed me to this last week, and I’ve just caught up. I’m very impressed by the imagination that went into this and that you’ve kept making these. It seems very accessible every for people who never played table-top RPGs, and will probably get more than a few people to dust off some old rulebooks.

Not sure about the IP issues with all the screen shots, but you should really consider trying to publish this once it done.